Netflix's 'Resident Evil' Show Has Survival Horror Fans Seriously Excited

Let's rewind to 2017, when the rumor mill was churning about Netflix producing a Resident Evil series. Fans were excited. Theories flew all over the place, cast speculations surfaced... and then it turned out that the whole thing was a big fat lie.

That is, until it wasn't. Either the 2017 rumors were part of a teaser campaign from the streaming giant to find out whether or not there was interest in a series based on the popular video game, or the surge in popularity of the Resident Evil 2 remake piqued the interest of producers, but Netflix is actually going ahead with a Resident Evil show.

This won't be the first video-game-to-big-screen adaptation that Netflix has made. The Castlevania anime is being praised by both critics and fans alike for simultaneously capturing the "feel" of the game without sacrificing plot or character development. Henry Cavill's debut as Geralt in The Witcher is another videogame/novel based show that looks to nab the views of fantasy/video game fans everywhere.

So what do we know about Netflix's Resident Evil series? So far, not a heck of a lot, but there are some tidbits that have gotten theories churning on the internet already.

Nellie Andreeva, a reporter for Deadline, is the one who originally broke the news of the show online, and says that the program will focus on "deepen[ing] the existing mythology" of Resident Evil while still upholding its "basic premise." Which means you can expect zombies and The Umbrella Corporation to be in the show.

There's no word on whether or not the series will directly adapt any of the storylines from the original videogame, which could prove to be a tall order. That's not to say the Resident Evil titles don't have plots: they do, and some are more developed than others. 

But it's important to remember that a lot of the earlier games are heavily based on puzzle and problem solving, as well as spooky monsters. So it'll be interesting to see which direction whoever is running the series will take with the show.

Fans who've played the Code Veronica game would probably argue that if Netflix wanted to go the "origin" route, then revisiting some plot points from the title that was first released on Dreamcast would be necessary. Learning more about the Ashfords and the Spencer mansion could very well help to "deepen" the "mythology" of the series.

But there's a problem with that theory: Nellie reported that the series occurs in an environment that's already been ravaged by the T-Virus outbreak.

So if we are in a T-Virus world, and the Resident Evil 2 remake has a lot of buzz around it, then there's a good chance that the showrunners might be planning on starting the series off in Raccoon city during the events of RE2.

It's hard to tell, especially because we don't have any plot specifics, but if Netflix plans on culling heavily from the source material, series mainstays like Albert Wesker, Leon Kennedy, Claire and Chris Redfield, Ada Wong, Jill Valentine, and maybe some other S.T.A.R.S. members will make appearances as well.

Given Netflix's commitment to the Castlevania storyline and maintaining true to the game's source material, it seems like it'd behoove whoever's producing it to follow suit. Hopefully they won't go the Resident Evil film route. While it is a long-running movie series, fans weren't exactly happy with the liberties that the films took with the games' plotlines and characters.

Another big question mark for the series will be the release date. The streaming monolith has reportedly already searched for a showrunner, and although the series is in production, it's hard to imagine that we won't get something in 2020. As of now, no one really knows when the series is finally coming to Netflix.

The two titles aren't related and just like the Netflix series, not much is known about the re-imagined, silver screen version, but there has been some talk that the film will be based on Resident Evil 7. 

Which means we might see Ethan Winters fight to survive the horrors of the Baker family on the abandoned plantation that they live, and kill, on. That spells a departure from the heavily stylized action/horror films starring Milla Jovovich as Alice.

It's hard to keep anything secret for that long on the internet these days, and with a high-profile popular project like Resident Evil, there should be more leaks and coming out soon. Are you excited for the show? If so, is there a particular video game you hope they adapt for the storyline?